Reflection on Matthew 12:1-8

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Friday, July 17, 2020

Jesus and his disciples were going through a field of grain on the sabbath when his disciples began to pick the heads of grain and eat because they were hungry. Now, the law of Moses allowed those who were walking through a field of grain to eat some of the ripened grain but not to harvest the field. When the Pharisees saw this, they accused Jesus of allowing his disciples to violate the sabbath law, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.” The law of Moses commanded that the sabbath be a day of rest, when no work should be done (Ex. 20:8-11), even at harvest time (Ex. 34:21). Rather than challenge and correct the Pharisees for their myopic application of the law, Jesus drew their attention to what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how they entered the house of God and ate bread of offering which only the priests are allowed to eat. Using the action of David, Jesus pointed out to the Pharisees that just as David was not condemned, his disciples should not be condemned as well. He also reminded them that priests in the temple who work in the temple even on sabbath do not violate the sabbath law. Quoting from prophet Hosea, Jesus says “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” 

With those words Jesus emphasizes how important the virtue of mercy is. The philosophy and spirituality of the Old Testament and of the Jewish tradition was very much based on law and legalism. Of course being strict of the law and obeying the rules requires self-discipline, and no doubt, sacrifice. For the Jews, law was both important and sacrosanct. The Pharisees believed that the disciples of Jesus were not respecting the law and therefore expressed outrage. But Jesus was not in anyway condoling the breaking of the law. He himself said he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Jesus did not ignore Jewish traditions. In general, we can see from the Gospels that he was careful to obey the laws of the people he was living with. What Jesus stresses in today’s Gospel is the vital importance of striking a balance between obeying the law and caring for the needs of people. He is teaching us that human beings are far more important than laws and traditions. He is telling us that human need should trump laws and traditions. The sabbath was made for man, he tells us, not man for the sabbath. 

Jesus also talks about the temple, the great monument of Jewish tradition, the place they believed God dwelt, and that God dwelt in a special way in the holy of holies. He says that something greater than the temple is here. Of course, Jesus is referring to himself. He is that which is greater than the temple. Now that he is here things must change. With Jesus, God has come among God’s people. God’s presence on earth is in the presence of Jesus. The temple is also a place where people offer sacrifices to God for remission of sins. Now that Jesus is here, there is hardly any need for all that. Sacrifice was offered to a God who is far away, but mercy is to the God who is present to us. What Jesus wants is mercy, and not sacrifice. He wants us to be conscious of the needs of those around us and to minister to them. He is not so interested in pious and legalistic practices but in works of mercy.